Strategies For Handling Change An excellent Communication Strategy is right at the core of any successful change management procedure. The more change there is going to be then the greater the demand - and notably about the gains, the reasons, the strategies and proposed effects of the change. It is important that the effective communication strategy is defined and actioned as soon as possible and then properly maintained for the length. There are two aspects to your change management communication strategy: firstly the balance between information content and psychological resonance; and secondly the initiative's phase, in other words prior to and during. The content and structural aspect of your communications You may gain greatly from the area of a programme-based approach to handling and directing your change initiative, as your communication strategy will be based around the following: - Stakeholder map and investigation [everyone who will be impacted by the change along with your evaluations of the impacts as well as their reactions ] - Blueprint [ statement and the clear definition of the changed organization] - Vision statement and pre-programme planning procedure [ the high-level vision and also the follow up pre-planning procedure to unpack the vision and analyse the impacts ] - Programme strategy [the steps which are taken to produce the changes and get the gains - a schedule of projects and projects and initiatives ] The crucial FACTUAL questions your communication strategy should address and to what level of detail? - What will be the key used to disseminate advice? - Who are you attempting be encouraged? What advice a result of feedback? - what exactly are the aims? - How much advice will be provided, messages? - What mechanisms will probably be *properly to reach? - How will feedback will be communicated? - What will likely be achieved as be disseminated, and what are the relevant timings? The key PSYCHOLOGICAL questions your communication strategy have to address
Kotter exemplifies this the anecdote of Martin Luther King who did not stand up in front of the Lincoln Memorial and say: "I've a fantastic strategy" and exemplify it with 10 good reasons why it turned out to be an excellent strategy. He said those immortal words: "I've a dream," and then he proceeded to show the folks what his dream was - he exemplified his picture of the future and did so in ways that had high psychological impact. William Bridges focuses around feature of the change and the emotional and psychological impact and introduces these 3 simple questions: (1) What is altering? Bridges offers the following guidance - the change leader's communication statement must:- Certainly express the change leader's understanding and aim - Link the change to the drivers making it necessary - "Sell the problem before you try to market the alternative." - Not use jargon (2) What will really be distinct because of the change? Bridges says: "I go into organizations where a change initiative is well underway, and I ask what's going to vary when the change is done-and no one can answer the question... a change might appear very significant and extremely real to the leader, but to the people who need to make it work it seems quite abstract and vague until actual differences that it will make begin to become clear... the drive to get those differences clear should be a significant precedence on the planners' list of things you can do." (3) Who's going to lose what? Bridges maintains the situational changes are not as problematic for businesses to make as individuals affected by the change's emotional transitions. Transition management is about seeing the situation through another guy's eyes. This is a view based on empathy. It works with people to bring them through the transition and is communication and direction process that recognises and affirms them's realities. Failure to do that, around the part of change leaders, plus a denial of the losses and "lettings go" that people are faced with, sows the seeds of mistrust. 5 guiding principles of a good change management communication strategy So, in summation the 5 guiding principles of a good change management communication strategy are as follows: - Resonance of message - the emotional tone and delivery of Internal communications team the message - Accurate targeting - to get to the right individuals with all the right message - Timing program - to achieve timely targeting of messages - Feedback process - to ensure two way communication that is genuine Failure reasons in change management are many and changed. But one thing is clear. Any organisational initiative that creates change - or has an important change element to it - has a 70% probability of not reaching what was originally envisaged.
The root cause of all this failure is dearth of clarity as well as a lack of communicating. This is what a Programme Direction based method of change is all about and why it so significant.